The title of this recording is "Opening of Out in the Park (2016)". It is described as: Audio from the opening of Out in the Park, held in Waitangi Park, Wellington on Saturday 12 March 2016. It was recorded in Waitangi Park, Te Aro, Wellington on the 12th March 2016. This is a recording of an event and features the voices of Adrienne Girling, Des Smith, Elizabeth Kerekere, Fran Wilde, John Jolliff, Justin Lester, Karen Harris, Kassie Hartendorp, Kevin Haunui and Tīwhanawhana. Their names are spelt correctly, but may appear incorrectly spelt later in the document. The duration of the recording is 26 minutes, but this may not reflect the actual length of the event. A list of correctly spelt content keywords and tags can be found at the end of this document. A brief description of the recording is: Audio from the opening of Out in the Park, held in Waitangi Park, Wellington on Saturday 12 March 2016. The content in the recording covers the decades 1980s through to the 2010s. A brief summary of the recording is: This abstract summarizes a recording from the Opening of Out in the Park event held on March 12th, 2016, at Waitangi Park, Wellington. Throughout its 26-minute duration, it captures the speeches and interactions among distinguished guests celebrating LGBTQ+ community achievements and milestones in Aotearoa New Zealand, specifically highlighting the movement from the 1980s to the 2010s. The recording captures a lively and engaging event ambiance and includes addresses from notable figures such as Deputy Mayor Justin Lester; Fran Wilde, a key player in homosexual law reform; and Des Smith and John Jolliff, pioneers of what began as a fair and evolved into a significant LGBTQ+ cultural event. Deputy Mayor Justin Lester opens with an acknowledgment of the LGBTQ+ community's importance to Wellington's vibrancy and inclusivity, reminiscing about the city's history of pushing for awareness and visibility around LGBTQ+ rights. Celebrating Wellington's embracing of the Pride Week, Lester appreciates the strides made by the community and emphasizes the continued need for advocacy and support. Fran Wilde, instrumental in the 1986 Homosexual Law Reform Act, reflects on the progress regarding acceptance and diversity within the nation. Wilde celebrates the courage of the gay community, particularly those who risked exposure to support the law reform bill. This testament to the community's resilience and fight for equal rights underlines the long journey and the progress that still lies ahead. Founders Des Smith and John Jolliff recall the origins of the fair, how it started as a small campaign for fair law, and its growth over thirty years. They express gratitude toward the individuals and groups, both within and outside the LGBTQ+ community, who contributed to the success of the fair and the broader movement for equality. Their anecdotes depict a trajectory from secrecy and illegality to openness and legal recognition, including the achievement of marriage equality. Adrienne Girling and Karen Harris, co-chairs of the organizing body, share their excitement over the day's turnout and festivities, emphasizing the role of volunteers and the community in enabling such events. They highlight the value of continuity, visibility, and pride within the LGBTQ+ movement and encourage participants to enjoy the day's diverse offerings. The event unfolds with performances, speeches, and a showcase of solidarity, celebrating past achievements and advocating for continued progress in LGBTQ+ rights and visibility. The recording concludes with an invitation to all attendees to join in the day's celebrations and a live performance, enlivening the atmosphere with collective joy and unity. The full transcription of the recording follows.  It includes timestamps every thirty seconds in the format [HH:MM:SS].  The transcription begins:  Oh, good enough. The oh. Hm. And, uh, for you? Yeah. [00:00:30] Hi. [00:01:00] You don't know? Thank you. Yeah. [00:01:30] Calendar. I [00:02:00] ain't going back. Yes, Mr You see how I kicked out [00:02:30] then got the No. You like that? You say hello. Yeah, [00:03:00] OK. No. Then I go to I go to I go to right [00:03:30] that Good morning. And welcome to out in the park 2016. We are very pleased to be here for the opening of such a glorious occasion. My husband and I are thrilled. We're just chuffed as to be here. Philip. Sorry he's late. He's just circling the block looking for a park. Thank you [00:04:00] to for such a lovely welcome. We're so chuffed to be here for the 30th anniversary of what has been called the gay and lesbian fair out in the square the GL TB, ITG plus alphabet. So square fair. And for such an auspicious occasion, it deserves no suspicious opening. After all, I am the [00:04:30] queen Darling, not just a queen, darling. Who's queen Me now we're kicking off today with some wonderful words from our guests. We've got Deputy Mayor Justin Lester, the Honourable I mean, are you still honourable after you've left Parliament. I'm not sure if you're more honourable after you've left Parliament. But we've got the fabulous Fran Wild, the wonderful chaps who first started the Fair Des [00:05:00] and John and the co chairs of Wellington Inc. The organising body of out in the park. Adrian Girling and Karen Harris will be here as well. So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the deputy Mayor. He must be just absolutely chuffed to meet me. Please welcome to the stage Deputy Mayor Justin Lester. Oh [00:05:30] Oh, very nice to my And it is a great pleasure to meet you today. It's got a a real highlight of my week. Now, I just want to welcome you on behalf of Wellington City, and you're a core component of what makes this city so vibrant and great. I was talking earlier with Jan Loy and Grant Robertson about growing [00:06:00] up in a provincial town and just how different it was through our own, you know, uh, early years, formative years and teenage years and then coming to Wellington a tolerant, inclusive and very generous community. And it's great that Wellington has embraced Pride Week and I want to acknowledge, uh, des and John the great work they did 30 years ago and that Karen and Adrian are continuing the strong tradition today. Also, I want to acknowledge Fran Wilde and her friends over here. We were chatting earlier for the great work [00:06:30] she did around homosexual law reform here in the city 30 years ago, and Wellington has had a chequered past in the past. But we've always led. We've led from the front, and we've dragged New Zealand, sometimes kicking and screaming right and behind to make sure that there's awareness around LGBT Q i rights and visibility. I remember growing up, and it's easy for me to say, and I'm somewhat ashamed to say no. I was a heterosexual white male, and yet, growing up in a provincial [00:07:00] town in New Zealand, I still felt oppressed because I wasn't a rugby playing beer swilling meat head to be fair. So for for me to to feel oppressed, I can only imagine what it was like for many in the LGBT community growing up and many friends of mine who sometimes didn't make it all the way through. Uh, I'm deeply saddened by that fact. So in Wellington, we've got a real focus on awareness, a real focus on visibility. We want to make sure that, uh, we're welcoming and embracing, [00:07:30] loving and supportive have a great fear today. And it's an honour to be here. Thank you. You thank you. Wellington's Deputy Mayor Justin Lester, and thank the Wellington City Council for the funding and all the fabulous support that they've given us. Uh, they are one of our main sponsors here today for out in the park. Our next guest is one of the prime [00:08:00] movers behind the homosexual law reform. In 1986 that was groundbreaking legislation passed primarily so that people could come to the Queer Fair. Please welcome Fran Wilde. No greetings to you all. This is great. We are celebrating Wellington and its diversity [00:08:30] and the LGBTI community and the fact that New Zealand has gradually allowed all of us to be as different as we want to be. Still a way to go. But, um, we've come a long way. I'm not sure why. 30 years was selected for a celebration of, um, gay law reform, but somebody told me the other day it was because people like me were in danger of dying out, and we wouldn't make 50 years. So I just I have to tell you, I do intend to make 50 years. Uh, [00:09:00] but I may not be able to walk up the steps then, um So look, um, I just want to today, uh, acknowledge all of the people who were involved 30 years ago. This fear, which sort of started 30 years ago to, um wouldn't have I mean, we just couldn't have done all the things we do now. We wouldn't have had openly gay MP S. We wouldn't have been able to have the celebrations of diversity and people just being themselves in all parts of [00:09:30] society. Uh, with a A at that stage. And frankly, it was a pretty grim time, particularly for, um, gay men, but also lesbians, because that, um, stereotyping and scapegoating was put on to the whole of the community and not just gay men. And I just want to thank all of you. A lot of you here today, um uh, would have been involved in that, and I particularly want to thank you for all you did. Um, I said at parliament the other day. One big shout out and I want to do it again was to the gay [00:10:00] men who came out during that campaign. They were criminals. And actually, they basically, um, put themselves at huge risk by coming out. Because if the bill hadn't succeeded, it would have been pretty awful for them, uh, living here in what would have been a pretty impressive society. So well done. All of you celebrate. And let's make New Zealand even better. [00:10:30] Thank you, Fran Wilde. Really? I mean it. All of us here say thank you very much. Now, next up, we've got the gentleman who first made all of this possible the founders of what has been called the gay and lesbian fair Out in the square, the GL BT IGGLMNOP alphabet soup. Queer Fair, Please welcome to the stage Des and John. [00:11:00] Yeah, my husband and I are my husband and I now it's absolutely wonderful to be able to say that today [00:11:30] it is remarkable because 30 years ago if we had done that, we would have ousted ourselves. We had been, uh, identifying ourselves as having a strong and wonderful relationship, and we would have attracted the eyes, no doubt of the New Zealand police and we were criminals and it was an interesting and difficult time. But we are no longer criminals, and that is wonderful. And it, thanks to so many people [00:12:00] to all of you here that we can stand up and be proud of who we are and get married, which is wonderful. But so many people did a lot of work, but it had relatively small beginnings. This younger man here was a prime mover and what has become out in the park, and he moved to help change laws. It was a fair for a fair law, so I'd better hand over to him over [00:12:30] to this. That OK 1986 does not seem that far away. For me, however, that was the time that I have to thank quite a lot of people. And it wasn't just the gay lesbian community. A lot of them were still closed, too frightened. There's a lot of other people, and that helped out and also helped me to be who I am now. But I'd just like to mention a few names. And also [00:13:00] I remember when I first organised that fair there was. I was working for a guy who had drivers and he had, uh, trucks. And what have you We had to get a lot of stuff over to Newtown School Hall. OK? He lent a driver and his wife, and they both came along. The kids are all coming out of the school, and it was just wonderful, rare reaction. They were pointing at this heterosexual couple and saying, Look, look, he's gay. Oh, she's a lesbian. And and this was so funny to hear [00:13:30] from these young kids in, uh 1986. So anyway, we went on and it was, um, Pauline Simmons, James Halo and myself. We got that affair going, and then the next year, uh, they weren't interested, so I started on my own. Then I met this wonderful man and away we went and, you know, you don't know where help was coming from. And I remember I got a call from Turners and Growers. There's a guy there said, Look, we've got some fruit and vegetables for you. So, [00:14:00] out of that little burin, we went fruit and vegetables. The guy couldn't give us enough. We just piled them into that car and it stuck. I don't know for how long afterwards lettuces and cabbages and God knows what. But this is where the help came. And I'd just like to acknowledge some of these other people. Elaine Neb Bridge. She was the one that fought our battle. Newtown school. Uh, Newtown school itself did not want us. They did not want queers on their ground with all those kids around. She fought [00:14:30] for us to get that hall, and that was the first fear. And she continued to fight to make sure that we had that fear there for 10 years. So it was Eileen Lab Bridge. Don Franks. He was a guy who? A musician. He played at nearly all those fears. And he, uh, unfortunately, lost his wife last year, which is very sad. And but Don Franks was another person I'd just like to mention at this stage. There was a heap of other people and, [00:15:00] uh, so made a few notes and Oh, yeah, uh, the people in the gay community that helped people like Sue Dunlop. She's no longer with us, but she was marvellous. She was there, and she helped on so many occasions and gave her time for nothing. So these people should be acknowledged and it's a good chance now to do that. Uh, people like I think is here today we are, [00:15:30] But also that was all part. We also had the top twins at one stage. Great. They gave their time for nothing. I remember we had these hats with rainbow feathers and and they saw us there, and they kept referring to us as the Flamingo Brothers. But, uh, we're not that, are we? Anyway, um, right. But I'd just like to say that this continuation and what we're doing and it's very moving to see such a huge crowd [00:16:00] and I just think the visibility is so important. And I'd just like to say everyone, if you all can yell out now we are proud to be here and support the OK, let's hear that. Yes, great. That's good. And have a great time. OK, Uh [00:16:30] thank you, Des and John and thank you to all the lovely people who have given their time over the 30 years to bring us to where we are here today. And it therefore gives me great pleasure to introduce the co chairs of Wellington incorporated the organising body of out in the park. Please welcome Adrian Girling and Karen Harris. [00:17:00] This is really overwhelming. There's a huge crowd. We just want to welcome you here today. Um, just amazing to hear Dez speak about the fair 30 years ago and the struggle that it was to put that on. And now look at us. This is amazing. Um, we've just had our second Wellington Pride parade [00:17:30] Just come through that most of you are in. Um, and we were so happy for to have that turn out. Um, so we just want you to have this an amazing day. Um, there's stalls around there's food, um, and just loads of entertainment all day long here on the stage. And I'll let Karen, um yeah, and just to add, obviously, have a fantastic day. We really want to thank the volunteers and the committee that [00:18:00] have helped make this happen, who work really hard all year to put this event on. Um, so we've got our committee who are around and in HQ all day. If you want to come and see us at all and, um loads volunteers who've turned out at six o'clock this morning to help us get everything set up for today. So we're really looking forward to having you around with as a says, we've got entertainment running. Our headliners are on later on this afternoon. So please, then join us for the day and let us have a fabulous time. So thank you so much for coming out this morning. [00:18:30] Thank you. Karen and Adrian next up, we've got marvellous. They're going to continue with some beautifully sung. And after that, my beautiful sister Queen Poly filler Will will take over to start us in what is going to be seven hours of non stop entertainment. So we do hope that you can make yourselves comfortable here today. [00:19:00] We've got some fabulous entertainment coming up. We've got great stalls. We've got great people to talk to. Please make yourselves at home. And please, for now, please welcome back to in his life. [00:19:30] Yeah, my [00:20:00] like, Yeah. I mean and yeah, and then [00:20:30] yeah, And it do. Yeah, to [00:21:00] Are you doing? But not very right. Thank you. Thank [00:21:30] you. I see. What? Yeah, Free. [00:22:00] Yeah. Then I can get away in my side. I them that know him. OK, [00:22:30] in my mind Come. Really me, [00:23:00] my son I can get I did, you know. I know. No, no, Ma, [00:23:30] no Came back. I know. I think I see. I see some other too fun of the crap. I And then we want you to come up for our last play out. [00:24:00] Come on, now. Yeah, the car here. Oh, [00:24:30] yeah. That bye in the money I can name, I don't mind DR see, [00:25:00] Please. All I know five back in wife there in my night on a dark hard [00:25:30] Yeah. No. Big, Big bye. Yeah, [00:26:00] OK. The full transcription of the recording ends. A list of keywords/tags describing the recording follow. These tags contain the correct spellings of names and places which may have been incorrectly spelt earlier in the document. The tags are seperated by a semi-colon: 1980s ; 2010s ; Adrienne Girling ; Aotearoa New Zealand ; Coming Up ; David ; Deeza Star ; Des Smith ; Don Franks ; Elaine Lethbridge ; Elizabeth Kerekere ; Fran Wilde ; God ; Grant Robertson ; Homosexual Law Reform ; Homosexual Law Reform Act (1986) ; James Heslop ; Jan Logie ; John Jolliff ; Justin Lester ; Karen Harris ; Kevin Haunui ; LGBT ; Lesbian and Gay Fair ; Member of Parliament ; New Zealand Police ; Newtown ; Newtown School ; Out Wellington Inc. ; Out in the Park (Wellington) ; Out in the Square (Wellington) ; Out in the carPark (Wellington) ; Parliament buildings ; People ; Polly Filla ; Porleen Simmonds ; Pride ; Pride parade ; Stuff ; Sue Dunlop ; Topp Twins ; Tīwhanawhana ; Waitangi Park ; Wellington ; Wellington City Council ; Wellington Pride ; attack ; career ; celebration ; change ; cis male ; coming out ; community ; council ; diversity ; drag ; entertainment ; fear ; food ; friends ; fruit ; funding ; gay ; growing up ; heterosexual ; history ; hit ; homosexual ; homosexual law reform ; hope ; law ; legislation ; lesbian ; marriage ; marriage equality ; maui ; mayor ; myth ; oppression ; other ; otter ; parade ; police ; power ; pride ; queen ; queer ; rainbow ; rugby ; running ; sad ; school ; sport ; struggle ; support ; teenage ; time ; top ; tradition ; twins ; visibility ; work. The original recording can be heard at this website https://www.pridenz.com/opening_of_out_in_the_park_2016.html. The master recording is also archived at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.  For more details visit their website https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.1089732. Please note that this document may contain errors or omissions - you should always refer back to the original recording to confirm content.